DailyCandy's Boots Get Dirty With Custom Sorel Campaign

Dirty boots are made for female empowerment in a new branded content campaign for Sorel boots on fashion site DailyCandy. Since the campaign went live Sept. 27, it’s generated 74,000 impressions on Twitter for the #getyourbootsdirty hashtag and phrase, along with 127 conversations sparked on Facebook.

The campaign, running on a dedicated landing page and in DailyCandy emails, includes exclusive coverage of four female entrepreneurs with strong social media presences and their rugged footwear. The copy, “Say hello to four women who aren’t afraid to get their boots dirty,” encourages the audience to tweet about their own accomplishments using the campaign hashtag #getyourbootsdirty.

The branded content and social media partnership with Sorel, a division of Columbia Sportswear, is a first for DailyCandy, according to a company representative. It is collaboration between the lifestyle site and Sorel’s ad agency Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners. The effort is an extension of Sorel’s fall/winter 2012 “Get Your Boots Dirty” campaign, which BSSP launched in August. The main campaign is anchored by a branded online video featuring Leila Janah, founder of Samasource, a nonprofit that outsources work to people in poor countries.

OH and I get my boots dirty by riding horses! Just finished cleaning/polishing the dirty things for my show this weekend! #getyourbootsdirty

— Kristen (@Kristenannes) September 28, 2012

The agency picked the women for the DailyCandy effort from a long list submitted by DailyCandy, said Juli Johnson, associate media director at BSSP. A key factor in the selection was the social media following of each prospect, she said. Chosen entrepreneurs and their companies are: Marisa Smith, of Sweet Roots NYC, a grocery delivery service; Kari Litzmann of Rubina, an import ecommerce site; and Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg of theSkimm, a daily newsletter.

Since the ad went live in early September, there have been 47 tweets and 74,000 impressions on Twitter for the campaign hashtag and phrase “get your boots dirty,” per BSSP. On Facebook, there have been 81 likes and 127 conversations generated.

A review of recent tweets with the branded hashtag show users seem more interested in the entrepreneurs and in shoe styles than in inspirational empowerment.

Among the more personal tweets, one woman said she can’t wait for it to get cold enough for boots. Another takes the message literally, telling how she cleans her dirty boots after horseback riding.

“Women tell us they feel a sense of confidence when they wear boots,” said Kimberly Barta, Sorel’s senior global brand director, in a statement. The company chose DailyCandy, which is owned by NBCUniversal, because “we know its readers are strong and independent,” she said. For its part, DailyCandy said it has a strong focus on customized ad campaigns, and is sure that its audience will respond to “inspiring women who are working within the fashion, beauty and lifestyle space,” according to Fernando Romero, VP of ad sales.

Barta said the Sorel boots campaign will do “integrated efforts with a number of media properties using editorial-based content through the Winter. The DailyCandy program is the first to go live.”